Guo Hongzhe held his stepmother's handwritten letter, looking embarrassed, and hesitantly said, "Ahem, this, this——"
"Oh?" Fang Sheng took a closer look and was also startled. He quickly turned his face away, sat up straight, and buried his head in collecting the herbs.
"Third Master, what did the old lady tell me?" Pan Mama was illiterate and stared at the letter for a long time, but she couldn't understand it at all.
Guo Hongzhe was too embarrassed to speak, as if it were too hot to handle. He hastily thrust the letter into his brother's nurse's arms and replied vaguely, "You'd better ask my second sister-in-law."
"Ah?" Nanny Pan took the letter helplessly, took a few steps obediently, and handed it to Jiang Yushu, saying, "Young Madam, could you help me take a look at it later?"
Jiang Yushu sat beside him, absorbed in reading her father's long letter. Without giving it a second thought, she said casually, "Hmm? Okay, let's put it aside for now. Third brother, what did the old lady write? Why don't you read it to Madam?"
"Sister-in-law, please take a look at it yourself." Guo Hongzhe stood up and said seriously, "I'm going to organize the manuscript." After speaking, he left tactfully.
Fang Sheng couldn't sit still any longer, so he followed closely behind, picked up the medicine box and said, "I, I'll go check the herb garden."
"What?"
Jiang Yushu was startled when she heard this. She looked up in surprise and asked, puzzled, "Doctor Fang, didn't you say we should wait until spring to till the herb garden? It's freezing and snowy right now. What's there to see?"
Fang Sheng quickly stepped out of the main hall, without even turning back, and headed straight for the wing room. "Haha, that's right. Fine then, I'll tidy up the herb garden later. I must plant a few more herbs next spring!"
In a blink of an eye, Jiang and Pan were the only ones left in the huge hall.
Jiang Yushu noticed something strange and asked in confusion, "What's going on with them? They're so weird." She became suspicious and read her father's letter at a glance. Then she picked up her mother-in-law's handwritten letter and examined it with a frown.
"What exactly did the old lady write?" Nanny Pan was curious and nervous, and she was anxious.
Jiang Yushu remained silent for a long time, holding her mother-in-law's concise handwritten letter and reading it over and over again. Her eyes widened in disbelief, and she immediately understood why her brother-in-law and Doctor Fang were so uncomfortably avoiding her!
"Young Madam, how is it?" Nanny Pan asked anxiously, growing increasingly anxious. "Did something happen to Changping? Is the old lady in good health?"
Jiang Yushu came back to her senses, took a deep breath, her cheeks flushed, she was extremely embarrassed, and replied softly: "Don't worry, the old lady is in good health. She wrote to you specially and only mentioned one thing." She put the letter on the table, her face hot and getting redder and redder.
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"What?" Nanny Pan asked anxiously, "What's the big deal?"
The other party was illiterate, so Jiang Yushu had to force herself to remain calm and relay the truth: "My mother-in-law said that you were the second young master's wet nurse, and you have made great contributions to raising him. You are also old and virtuous, and you deserve to be entrusted with such an important task. Now, the second young master has been exiled to the army. In this bitter and cold borderland, the war is still raging. His safety is the concern of the elders."
"Alas, Heqin is not at peace. The young master has new injuries on top of old ones. It is really worrying." Nanny Pan sighed, feeling the same way.
Jiang Yushu lowered her eyes, changed the subject, and continued: "Therefore, for the sake of offspring, mother-in-law thought carefully and ordered that after a year of mourning, you will be responsible for arranging and hosting the ceremony, and presiding over -" She paused, her face flushed. Even though she was usually very graceful, she was a girl after all, and she was embarrassed to choose her words carefully.
Although illiterate, Nanny Pan was worldly-wise. Her eyes lit up instantly, and she understood what she was suggesting. She eagerly asked, "The old lady means that after the one-year mourning period is over, she wants me to arrange for you and the Second Young Master to consummate your marriage early, right?"
Fortunately, you guessed it, so I didn't have to say it myself...
Jiang Yushu nodded as if relieved, and even her ears turned red.
"Oh my! It's high time you consummated your marriage!" Nanny Pan was overjoyed. She clapped her hands and said excitedly, "To be honest, I've always had this thought in mind, but out of filial piety, I never dared to say it out loud. Fortunately, the old lady was wise and made an exception, allowing her son and daughter-in-law to consummate their marriage early."
The incident happened suddenly and Jiang Yushu didn't know how to respond for a moment.
Nanny Pan smiled from ear to ear, praising Wang endlessly and saying cheerfully, "No one else can interfere in this matter except the old lady. Only she can make the final decision." After a moment of excitement, she suddenly turned sad and sighed, "Young Master is in the army, fighting in the battle, it's a life-and-death struggle. The old lady must be extremely worried, fearing that—Alas, it's right to consummate the marriage as soon as possible. I wish the young lady will give birth to an heir soon to expand the Guo family!"
Jiang Yushu was shy at first, but when she heard the phrase "it's a life-and-death struggle on the battlefield," her heart sank. She whispered, "He will be safe, and the whole family will be safe."
"Never mind, let's not talk about bad luck. Since I'm honored by the old lady's trust, I will do my best to see this through!" Nanny Pan perked up, counting on her fingers, and said seriously, "The old marquis and the prince passed away in early April. By mid-April of next year, we can prepare for the wedding ceremony."
A few days later, it was New Year's Eve.
The Guo family was busy. Two tables were set up in the main hall, filled with food. Although there was no big fish or meat, the food was delicious and fragrant. It was cooked by Nanny Pan, Xiaotao and others with all their care and skill.
Jiang Yushu raised her teacup and said loudly, "This is our first year in Xicang. It's been very difficult, but fortunately we've managed to make it through. I pray to the gods and spirits to bless everyone with peace and success in the coming year!"
"Hope everything goes well in the coming year!" More than ten people raised their glasses solemnly.
Jiang Yushu put down her teacup, smiled, and took the first chopstick. She immediately invited her companions to eat a reunion dinner that was not a reunion. She thought to herself: On New Year's Eve, I wonder what he is busy with in the army? Can he sit down and have a peaceful meal?
At the same time, Changping County
The houses in the suburban farm are low and the furniture is old. There is a kang in the east room, which makes the room warm.
The window paper was pasted tightly, making it airtight, and the door was ajar.
Wang sat cross-legged, her expression solemn, wearing a brown headband, her graying hair meticulously tied into a bun. Having lived a pampered and comfortable life for half her life, the Marquis's wife had become dark, thin, and old, but there was still a sense of dignity between her lips and brows.
There was a wooden fish on the small square kang table. She closed her eyes and recited the scriptures devoutly, twirling the Buddhist beads with her left hand and striking the wooden fish with her right hand.
"Knock knock knock~", the sound of the wooden fish is neither fast nor slow, and listening to it can soothe people's hearts.
The next moment, the door was pushed open, and Guo Yu ran in cheering, jumping and skipping. He no longer looked as thin and frail as he had during exile, but now looked thriving.
Wang Qiaozhen followed her son and shouted impatiently, "Yu'er, run slower or you might fall! You're so naughty, you're not quiet even on New Year's Eve."
"Just being naughty! Humph, I am naughty!" Guo Yu kicked off his cotton shoes, climbed onto the kang, threw himself into his grandmother's arms, and made faces at his mother with a smile.
Wang quickly pushed aside the wooden fish, hugged her grandson, and asked lovingly, "Wow, have you finished your meal so soon?"
"Hmm!" Guo Yu raised his head, his voice childish, and asked in confusion, "Why don't you have dinner? The general sent people to bring us a lot of delicious food, and it's very lively outside."
Wang replied kindly, "Grandmother is old, and her spleen and stomach are weak. She can't digest that. My dear child, eat it all."
Wang Qiaozhen took off her cotton robe and went to the kang. After eating and drinking her fill, she leaned lazily against the edge of the kang and sighed, "If only I could be as comfortable as this every day. Wow, how wonderful!"
"Whose family celebrates New Year's every day?" Wang looked at her eldest daughter-in-law with dissatisfaction, frowned and asked, "How long do you plan to pretend to be sick?"
Wang Qiaozhen's face suddenly fell, her brows drooping as she answered worriedly, "In the scorching summer and cold winter, I get sick from heatstroke and cold. Do I really want to be sick? I'm sick from overwork, and the disease is gone very quickly. The doctor told me to rest well, so my anxiety is useless."
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"Overwork leading to illness?" Wang laughed in anger. She demanded sternly, showing no mercy. "Since arriving in Changping, you've been feigning illness every now and then. You've had headaches, backaches, heatstroke, and colds, and it's endless. You've done less farm work than an old woman like me! How dare you say 'overwork leading to illness'?"
"Alas, it's New Year's Eve, please forgive me." Wang Qiaozhen lay down and pulled the quilt to cover herself. She was full of resentment and said aggrievedly: "I have never touched farm work since I was a child. I get dizzy when I work in the fields, and my back aches when I weave. Auntie knows this!"
Wang gave the wooden fish to her grandson to play with, then asked unhappily, "Your hands haven't been touched by it, but mine have been? Qiaozhen, I'm afraid I've reminded you a thousand times: exiles! Exiles! Now, everyone in the Guo family is a convict, sent to the army to cultivate the land. You are no longer the 'Crown Prince's Wife,' understand?"
Wang Qiaozhen pulled up the quilt to cover her head and wailed softly. Relying on the close relationship between aunt and niece, she was not afraid of her mother-in-law.
"You really should learn from Yushu!" Wang tugged at her quilt, feeling disappointed. She sighed, "Yushu led a dozen people in Heqin, working diligently and planting crops to achieve a good harvest. How rare—"
"Yushu, Yushu! How many times have you mentioned her?" Wang Qiaozhen flung back the quilt, her face etched with embarrassment. She speculated, "Third brother just went to Heqin. What does he know about 'a good harvest'? He's probably just hearsay, or maybe he mistook a joke for real. He's full of praise in a letter, but who knows the real situation?"
Wang raised her chin high and scolded in disappointment, "Regardless of whether the harvest was good or not, she has always been more diligent than you, there's no doubt about that! You, the eldest sister-in-law, are lazier than your younger sister-in-law, and you spend all day trying to feign illness. How can you be so shameless?"
"I—" Wang Qiaozhen was speechless. She hated farming and indeed often feigned illness, there was no denying it.
Wang lowered her voice and sternly instructed, "Thanks to General Mu's care, the Guo family is relatively free among the prisoners. You must know what is good for you and do your work honestly from tomorrow on. Don't make any mistakes, or you will damage the general's reputation."
"But I really caught a cold two days ago. I had a fever and a headache. Doctor—"
Wang interrupted, her face darkening as she asked, "Do you really have your mother-in-law in your eyes? Do you listen to me?"
"...I'll listen, of course I will." Wang Qiaozhen didn't dare to defy her mother-in-law, so she said perfunctorily, "From tomorrow on, I'll try my best to weave more cloth."
Wang's expression softened. "That's right." She patted her grandson's head and pondered, "After Honglei and Yushu consummate their marriage and she becomes pregnant, I'll have to sacrifice my dignity once again and ask General Mu to ask the government to allow Yushu to come to Changping. With the chaos and turmoil in Heqin, it's really not suitable for her to rest. You'll be the one taking care of her then."
"We haven't even started yet, why rush? Even if we consummate the marriage, she might not—" Wang Qiaozhen reluctantly stopped, frowning and muttering, "Besides, we are still in mourning—"
“That’s enough!”
"You're being outspoken! Shut up!" Wang glared at him, rubbing her temples. She said solemnly, "Honglei has been wounded repeatedly in the army. As a mother, how can I not worry? Although 'filial piety is the first of all virtues,' and a three-year mourning period is required, there's also a saying that 'there are three kinds of unfilial behavior, and the worst is to have no descendants.' After weighing the pros and cons, what's wrong with a one-year mourning period? This concerns the incense, who wouldn't understand?" She twirled her Buddhist beads, worried, and said helplessly:
"In short, Yushu must give Honglei an heir as soon as possible! Sigh, to be honest, I'm really afraid that Honglei will meet with an unexpected accident. Wouldn't his bloodline be cut off then? That's absolutely unacceptable."
Humph, can you have a son whenever you want? Perhaps Jiang will give birth to daughters. Wang Qiaozhen was disliked by her mother-in-law and felt inferior to her sister-in-law. She secretly resented it, but said, "That's right! I was wrong. Mother is so thoughtful."
After New Year’s Eve, heavy snow fell on the border, and the biting north wind howled day and night until the Lantern Festival.
Late in the night of the Lantern Festival, Guo Honglei, on an important mission, led a team of comrades and rushed home.
The author has something to say:
Wang: You all have misunderstood me...
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